Scottish Premiership picks: Big day at bottom, Robson almost in reach of third place

First prize has been wrapped up in the Scottish Premiership, but there is still a lot on the line over the home straight.

For once, an Old Firm derby does not top the bill since there is more at stake elsewhere in the tussle for European places and the brawl at the bottom.

Here are just a few of the things to look out for.

Game of weekend - Dundee United v Ross County

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in... Jim Goodwin might have been thinking something similar to those oft-quoted words from Al Pacino in Godfather III after last weekend's results.

Dundee United had lifted themselves off the bottom with a run of three straight wins, but that progress was halted by defeat by St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park, while Ross County were busy battering Livingston to make sure the battle to avoid the drop is as tight as ever.

Just one point covers the three sides scrapping for survival and it promises to be a tense afternoon at Tannadice on Saturday.

Kilmarnock, sandwiched in between, are looking forward to back-to-back home games, having picked up 26 of their 31 points at Rugby Park - and that ramps the jitters up even higher.

United and County shared the spoils in Dingwall on their first meeting this season, with two hefty home wins following, the Tangerines hitting three in December and the Staggies going one better in February.

Goodwin stepped in after that sorry loss and his side have scored nine in the eight games since, while County have hit six in seven over the same period.

At that rate, it may not be another big win, but any kind of win would be so, so precious for either team.

Todd Cantwell lit up a rather dour affair with Aberdeen last weekend, crashing in a wonderful volley for the game's only goal.

Rangers manager Michael Beale wants to build his midfield around the Englishman and fellow January signing Nicolas Raskin - and the duo have added much-needed energy.

With Celtic visiting Ibrox as champions, this may be a dead rubber, but that term wasn't really designed for the Old Firm and both sides will be eager to send a message.

Cantwell has only been in Glasgow for a few months and already he's been on the losing side in this derby three times.

Three goals and four assists is a decent return from 12 league outings at a new club, but if he wants to be a lead character in a Rangers revival, he will need to make an impact in these fixtures.

Manager in spotlight - Barry Robson (Aberdeen)

Aberdeen's seven-game winning streak came to an end at Ibrox in the wake of Robson being rewarded with a permanent contract, but that won't have done anything to dent the manager's popularity.

If the Dons can get back on track at home to Hibernian on Saturday, it's going to be very tough to catch them in the race for third place - and that's a remarkable turnaround given the 10-point deficit that existed after Robson's first game in charge, a 3-1 home loss to St Mirren on 1 February.

Since then, Robson has overseen eight victories, with his only other defeats away to the Old Firm.

His side were once again extremely well organised in the 1-0 defeat by Rangers, conceding for the first time in six outings, and they crafted a couple of good chances on the break.

A 6-0 thrashing at Easter Road led to the sacking of Jim Goodwin and the opportunity Robson has made the most of, but Aberdeen enjoy a largely good recent record against Hibs, especially at Pittodrie, where the visitors have won just once in their past 13 visits.

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